[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[January 25, 2002]
[Pages 115-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at Southern Maine Technical College in Portland
January 25, 2002
Thank you all very much for coming. It's nice to be back in, I
guess, my second home. I was telling your fine Governor, Angus King--
and thank you for being here, Angus. I'm
so honored you're here. He said, ``Are you going to come back next
summer?'' I said, ``I knew I should have made my bed last time I was
here.'' [Laughter] I'm not so sure my mother is
going to invite me back, but I hope she does. [Laughter] Maine's a
fabulous State, and as the Governor knows, it's full of such decent
people. And thank you for coming out for such a warm greeting. I've got
some things on my mind, and I want to share them with the good people of
Maine.
First, I want to tell you, I've got a great Cabinet. I'm so proud of
the way our team has responded. A leader is only good as his team. I
brought two members of my Cabinet with me: Secretary Mineta, and when I picked him out of the ranks, he was a--
he served the previous administration as the Commerce Secretary. He's a
proud Democrat, but he showed America really what he is: He's a proud
American, and he's done a fabulous job. And I knew I needed somebody who
knew something about local government to run the Homeland Security
Office, somebody who had been an administrator, a chief executive
officer, and somebody who could organize a massive task. And I picked
the right man when it came to the former Governor of Pennsylvania, my
very close friend Tom Ridge.
And one thing the world is learning, something I already knew, we've
got a fabulous military run by fine people. Admiral Loy, thank you for your leadership. I appreciate it.
I was supposed to bring two other folks with me today. I think
you've heard of them: Snowe and
Collins. They missed the flight--
[laughter]--for good reason. They were working on behalf of the people
of Maine. They had some votes to cast. But I will tell you, these two
fine ladies are good to work with, strong for the support of the State
of Maine, and great patriots.
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I'm proud of their service to our country, and I want to thank you for
sending them to Washington, DC. And I know a Congressman--one of the two
Congressmen from your State, John Baldacci, is here. John, where are you? Thank you for coming. I appreciate
you being here as well.
First, I want to talk about the Coast Guard. Now, you probably think
I've had a sweet spot in my heart for the Coast Guard because when I
spend the night at 41's house down the coast, I wake up and see the
cutter sitting out there. [Laughter] Well, has some good reason why I
support the Coast Guard so strong. But I saw how the Coast Guard has
responded after 9/11, and I know how important the Coast Guard is for
the safety and security and the well-being of our American citizens.
This is a fine group of people who don't get nearly as much
appreciation from the American people as they should. And I'm here today
to say thanks on behalf of all the citizens who appreciate the long
hours you put in, the daring rescues you accomplish, and the fine
service you provide to our country. Oh yes, we're on guard in America.
But the Coast Guard has got more missions than that. Admiral
Loy told me that right off the coast of my
State of Texas, the Coast Guard enacted one of the largest marijuana
busts in history just the other day--right off the east coast. The Coast
Guard chopper, the Coast Guard crew from Air Station Cape Cod--coast
guardsmen who I had a chance to thank personally today--rescued five
fishermen from a 74-foot fishing vessel called the Covered Wagon, that
sank in heavy seas. Five human souls returned back to land because of
the bravery of people who wear the Coast Guard uniform.
Such bravery is not an isolated event. After all, this story was
repeated 4,000 times last year. The Coast Guard, the men and women who
accomplish the mission, seized over 60 tons of cocaine last year. They
responded to over 11,000 oilspills. They're working around the globe
with the Department of Defense. Today, the Coast Guard is conducting
maritime intercept operations in the Persian Gulf and providing
waterside security in Guantanamo Bay.
Earlier today I had the pleasure of going on board the Tahoma, the
Coast Guard vessel that was the command vessel on site in New York
Harbor the day the enemy hit us. They stayed there for 40 days, on alert
24 hours a day, making sure that not only did traffic flow smoothly but
the people were safe.
When it comes to securing our homeland and helping people along the
coast, the Coast Guard has got a vital and significant mission. And
therefore, the budget that I send to the United States Congress will
have the largest increase in spending for the Coast Guard in our
Nation's history. We must make sure that our Coast Guard has got a
modern fleet of vessels. We must make sure that port security is as
strong as possible. We must make sure there's additional operating money
available for the extended missions of the Coast Guard. And we must make
sure those who wear our uniforms are well paid.
I'll have other priorities in my budget. One of the biggest
priorities, of course, is to make sure the homeland is secure. You know,
none of us ever dreamt that we'd have a two-front war to fight, one
overseas and one at home. But we do. That's reality, and as a result, we
must respond and continue to respond and stay on alert and help defend
America. The biggest chore I have, my biggest job, is to make sure our
homeland is secure.
Every morning I go into the Oval Office--and what a thrill it is to
walk into that grand office--and I sit at the desk that other Presidents
have sat at, Roosevelt, Reagan. And I look at the--I look at a threat
assessment. The enemy still wants to hit us, and therefore this Nation
must do everything in our power to prevent it. And so when I speak to
the Congress next Tuesday night and I submit my budget,
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one of the top priorities will be the security of the homeland. I've
asked for a doubling of homeland security funds to $38 billion a year,
money that will be spent to make sure that the Federal Government and
the State Government and the local governments--and I know some mayors
are here--work in a cooperative way to make sure that our first-
responders, the police, the fire, the emergency medical teams, have the
best equipment, the best training, the best ability to communicate with
each other to protect the American people.
In this budget, we will make sure that our health systems are more
modern and more responsive, that we stockpile needed medicines so that
they'll be easily accessible at the call of a Governor or the call of a
mayor, that we've got money in the budget for research and development,
to stay ahead of what the enemy may try to use, that our public health
systems have got the best communications possible and the ability to
respond quickly.
In this budget, under Norm Mineta's
leadership, we are securing our airports, we're modernizing the
equipment, we're sending more people into our airports to make sure that
travelers get the best service and the most safe flight humanly
possible.
And under this budget, we're spending $11 billion for controlling of
our borders. It is so important for our Nation to work with our friends
to the north, Canada, and our friend to the south, Mexico, on border
initiatives--that, one, doesn't tie up commerce but, on the other hand,
prevents illegal drugs, terrorists, arms from flowing across our border.
Tom Ridge went up to Canada--and I know the
Governor will appreciate this, since you've got such a huge border with
Canada--he went up with Canada, and we're talking about a new border
initiative with our friends. We're analyzing every aspect of the border
and making sure that the effort is seamless, the communication is real,
that the enforcement is strong.
And so, to this end, I've got a 29-percent increase in the budget of
the INS, to make sure we modernize our reporting data, to know who comes
in our country and who leaves our country. Forty percent--40 percent--
the INS estimates that 40 percent of the people who are here illegally
have overstayed their visa. Forty percent of the people who are here
illegally came because of the generosity of America--were given a period
of time in which they could stay, and then they didn't leave. And one of
the things we want to make sure of is we find the 40 percent to make
sure they're not part of some Al Qaida network that wants to hit the
United States.
And so we're looking; we're listening; we're following every single
lead. I'm proud of our FBI. We've got a fine man running the FBI, named
Robert Mueller. When Mueller first
came in, the main task of the FBI was running down crime, which is
great--white-collar crime or watching for spies. And those are all
important missions. But I'm proud to report to you now the number one
mission of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is to prevent another
attack on America. We're going to add agents onto the payroll. We're
going to add agents on our payroll, all aimed to making sure that not
only do we find leads, but when we find a lead, we chase them down as
quickly as possible.
There is nothing more important for me and the Federal Government,
to do everything within the Constitution of the United States--and I
emphasize we will not let the terrorists tear down our Constitution--we
will do everything within the Constitution to protect the innocent
Americans, the innocent moms and dads, the people who yearn for freedom
and normalcy in their life. We're working overtime, and I'm proud of the
American people, and I'm proud of the people who are working to protect
the American people. We're going to beef up Customs. We're on alert.
But I want to assure you, I know this: that the best way to secure
freedom in
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America, the best way to make sure we're a peaceful nation, the best way
to ensure that our children can grow up in a world that a lot of us
older folks grew up in--one that was pretty calm, pretty peaceful at
home, one that was secure--the best way to accomplish this dream and
mission is to find the enemy where they hide, to rout them out, and to
bring them to justice. And that's exactly what our Nation is going to
do.
It wasn't all that long ago that I asked the military to perform a
vital function. We've been at this for about 4\1/2\ months. Oh, for some
people it may seem like a long time, but it's not very long when you
think about the magnitude of the task. But in 4\1/2\ months, we've
accomplished a lot--we really have--because we've got such a fabulous
military. We routed out the Taliban. You see, I told the world--I told
the world that if you harbor a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, if
you feed a terrorist, you're a terrorist, and you're going to pay a
price.
Our men and women in uniform are brave, and they're skilled, and
they must have all our support. So the budget I asked for to the United
States Congress has got the most significant increase in military
spending in the last 20 years. The price of victory is well worth it.
And you know what makes me so proud of America? In the process of
holding the Taliban accountable, in the process of defending freedom,
our troops became liberators. We liberated women and children from the
clutches of one of the most repressive regimes in the history of
mankind. We rid women and children of the evils of the Taliban regime.
But I want to explain to the American people that we must be
patient. We've just started, and there's a lot to do. We've entered into
a dangerous phase of the first theater in the war against terror. And
that is, we're now hunting them down. We've got teams on the ground that
are going cave to cave. You see, this enemy is one that's willing to
send their young on suicide missions while they, themselves, hide in
caves. But there's no cave deep enough for the reach of the American
military. We're patient; we're deliberate; and we're going to bring them
to justice, one person at a time.
I want to remind you all that our mission is not one person, our
mission is terror wherever it exists. I'm proud we've got a strong
coalition, a coalition that our country leads, a coalition bound up to
protect freedom, a coalition that I hope will take every step necessary
to find terrorists where they live and help us bring them to justice.
You know, when the enemy hit us, they must have not known what they
were doing. I like to tell people, ``They must have been watching too
much TV, because they didn't understand America.'' [Laughter] They were
watching some of those shows, that one can get the wrong impression
about how materialistic we might be, how selfish we might be as a
people. But that's not the way we are. Not only are we patient and
determined and resolute to defend values we love, starting with the
value of freedom, this good Nation understands that in order to fight
evil, you do so with acts of kindness and goodness.
People say to me, ``What can I do, Mr. President, to help?'' And my
answer is, if you want to fight evil, do something good in your
neighborhood. If you want to fight evil, be a part of the goodness of
the country by loving a child who may have lost a parent, by walking
across the street to a shut-in and say, ``Somebody cares about you.'' If
you want to be a part of the war against terror, go to your church or
synagogue and mosque and ask the question, ``How can we love a neighbor
in need,'' and then feed somebody. If you want to be a part of the war
on terror, help a teacher; get involved with your public education;
mentor a child.
You see, the great strength of America is not only our military. The
true strength of America is the million acts of kindness
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and decency and compassion that define the soul and character of our
country on a daily basis.
No, when the enemy struck us, little did they realize that out of
the terrible evil would come such good. Our job is not only to win the
war overseas; our job is not only to protect the homeland, to make sure
we can live peacefully; our job is to fight evil on a daily basis by
loving a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. And that's
what's happening all across the country. And for those of you who do
that, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I want to
thank you for giving me a chance to be the President of the greatest
nation on the face of the Earth.
God bless.
Note: The President spoke at 1:15 p.m. in the Hutchinson Union Building.
The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
transcript of these remarks.